Coal

From Conservapedia

Coal is a combustible material which was formed by decomposing plant and animal material placed under intense pressure.

Coal mining is the extraction of coal for use as a fuel. It became important after 1800 as coal fueled railroads of the Industrial Revolution, and (where cheap water power was not available), the factories. Coal is now the chief method of generating electricity, along with burning natural gas, using water power in dams, and using nuclear energy.

Laboratory experiments show that coal can be formed in a matter of months, and with temperatures in the range of 100 to 150 degrees Celsius (210-300 degrees Fahrenheit) for brown coal and 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit) for black coal.[1]

Origins

The time required to turn plant material into coal is small enough that the biblical timescale is quite sufficient. The vast amounts of time suggested by uniformitarian geologists is not actually required.

There is often no evidence of the soil that the plant material grew in, suggesting that the plant material was washed into place.

Trees found in coal beds often turn out to be types that do not grow in swamps, as proposed by uniformitarian explanations.

Secular scientists propose that coal formation took long periods of time, with the most recently-formed coal being formed a million years ago.[4]
They generally propose that the plant material accumulated in swamps[4]

Environmental Impact

The burning of coal has lead to serious environmental consequences, such as the increase of coal-originating mercury in ocean fish such as tuna, or the release of chemicals that lead to acid rain. Acid rain is caused by the release of sulfur dioxide from fossil fuels, which dissolves to form sulfuric acid in rain clouds [5]. Acid rain can have serious impacts on local ecosystems, agriculture, and many structures, as the acid can eat away at building materials sensitive to acid, such as limestone.[Citation Needed]